About

"It Is a Mystery" is a pixel sprite image of a ghost with the phrase written next to it. Originally found in an image submitted to Something Awful in 2005, the emote gained notoriety in 2011 after its inclusion in a YouTube video with the keygen song “Happy H. Christmas.”

Origin

In the early 2000s, an emote of a ghost next to the phrase "it is a mystery" was added on the Something Awful Forums (shown below).

Spread

On November 17th, 2005, Something Awful Forums^[2] member doctor thodt posted a photograph of a pink sign with the "it is a mystery" emote placed underneath the question "Why is this flyer pink?" (shown below).

On April 27th, 2011, YouTuber PIFTSdotexe uploaded a video featuring a picture of the ghost emoji with the phrase "it is a mystery" while the song "Happy H. Christmas" by DRAX plays in the background (shown below). Within five years, the video gained over 647,000 views and 160 comments.

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On March 23rd, 2013, the "Ask the Mystery Ghost" Tumblr ask blog was launched. On August 23rd, 2015, Tumblr user chongoblog^[3] posted a version of the "Happy H. Christmas" song in a minor key titled "it is a mystery in minor," gathering upwards of 73,100 notes in two months. On September 25th, a Team Fortress 2 effect titled "It's a Mystery to Everyone" was added to the Steam Workshop, featuring a glowing ghost that swirls around the players head (shown below).

Search Interest

External References